Suns guard Isaiah Canaan suffered an absolutely gruesome ankle injury during Phoenix’s game against the Mavericks on Wednesday night. Towards the end of the first quarter, Canaan went up for a layup and landed awkwardly on his left foot on the way down. His ankle fractured, and as he laid on the ground, it was clear his entire left foot was pointing in the wrong direction. The injury was reminiscent of the one Celtics guard Gordon Hayward suffered earlier this season.
You can see the injury take place in this clip, but we should warn you that it is not easy to watch.
Suns team doctor Tom Carter was able to twist Canaan’s foot and ankle back into place on the court, and amazingly, Carter later told the Associated Press that Canaan didn’t express any pain at all while he was working on him. But Canaan obviously had to be taken off the court on the stretcher, and he will need to undergo surgery on his ankle on Thursday.
Many of Canaan’s Suns teammates, as well as many of his fellow NBA players, sent their prayers out to him in the aftermath of the injury.
Canaan has only been playing for the Suns for about a month and a half now. He was signed by Phoenix in mid-December after getting waived by the Rockets in late October. He was averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 assists per game for the Suns prior to his injury.
